Federal Way, WA
Personal injury Lawyer at Federal Way, WA
Practice Areas: Personal Injury, Litigation ... +3 more
OUTCOME: Won Reversal on Loss of Consortium Claim
Maritime Personal Injury Case involving enforcement of a forum selection clause. Plaintiffs filed in state court and Defendants moved to dismiss based on forum selection clause. Plaintiffs argued tha ... t the savings to suitors clause permitted their filing in state court and also that fundamental fairness prevented dismissal.
OUTCOME: Successful Decision in 9th Circuit
the Appeal to the 9th Circuit involved a number of issues relating to a forum selection clause contained in the passenger ticket (and a shortened statute of limitations), but the crucial issue resultin ... g in reversal of the federal trial court (W.D. WA) was the doctrine of equitable estoppel. The Plaintiffs had first filed in state court and then re-filed in federal court. Although more than one year had passed since the injury on the cruise ship (and therefore under the shortened contractual statute of limitations), the plaintiffs were techinically barred from re-filing, the doctrine of equitable estoppel was applied to toll the statute of limitations and permit the Plaintiff Oltmans to have their day in court.
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